The Royal Canadian Mint released it's Lake Superior coin this week, the first in a series of silver collectors currency that will depict all of the Great Lakes.

“We're known around the world, of course, for the Great Lakes and we thought it would be an excellent series,” said Christine Aquino, a mint spokesperson.

The $20 coin is based on maps detailing the contours of the lake's bottom and will celebrate the world's largest freshwater lake by surface area and the source of 10 percent of the planet's fresh water.

Lake Superior is bordered by three U.S. states to the south and features a northern shoreline of massive plummeting cliffs. The lake is fed by 200 rivers and measures 563 kilometres north to south and 257 kilometres west to east.

The coin is made with 99.99% pure silver and each of just 10,000 copies released worldwide will go for $114.95.

The lake portion of the coin is made with blue enamel, which Aquino said gives a special effect.

“You can really the contours and the dept of the lake with the different blues,” said Aquino, who hails from Wawa. “The employees at the mint in engraving and engineering, they've really done a great job. It really does the lake justice.”

She said the coin and a subscription that will allow collectors to get their hands on the coins as they come out are selling well.

The detailed map depicted on the Lake Superior coin stretches from Duluth, Minn. in the West to Whitefish Bay in the East, just shy of the St. Mary's River and Sault Ste. Marie.

It's no snub, just the technical limitations of engraving and the small size of the canvas, said Aquino.

“There's really a limit to how sharp a corner you can make on a coin and we really had to make a compromise with that,” said Aquino.

You can order the coin directly from the mint at 1-800-267-1871 or online at www.mint.ca.

The next coin, Lake Ontario, will be released in March, with Lake Erie following in June, Lake Michigan next October and Lake Huron in February of 2015.